Last Australia trip post - from Sunny Coundon Towers

This post is way overdue... in my jet lagged... senior moments... whatever I forgot to post it and as it is written I am posting it several weeks after the event!!!!

Well - we are home from the southern hemisphere safe and dry... its taken some readjustment ha ha - but the weather has picked up and while the tan faded really quick its good to be home.  

The holiday feels a distant dream now but we are about to sort the extensive snaps - a lot of rock - sea - sand and various random other things... flowers,birds, endless bush.... a different world to where we are now!!

I'm finding it hard to sum up the trip - it was so varied and the highlights were also quite different - the dolphins at Shelley beach took my breath away - as did in a completely different way - the snorkeling - both amazing experiences.  The land based wildlife - especially the kangaroos at Kalbarri were special and some of the views were just so vast and fabulous..... 

We stayed in some brilliant campsites and again its hard to pick the best - I loved Shelley Beach because of the dolphins but I also loved Parry Beach because it was the only place we had a campfire - and I love a campfire... The Stirling Retreat was the best 'organised' camping because it was a bit like bush camping but had such good amenities and was eco friendly and had monitor lizards running about...

Even some of the laybys we stayed in were pretty good - possibly not the one south of Exmouth - fly central - with added bonus of refrigerated roadtrain lorry generator going all night.... best swimming was the snorkelling although it was choppy and took some getting used to - the bruises I got from climbing on the boat have just about faded - the art gallery at Geraldton was the culture highlight - I absolutely loved the 'Peregrinations of a Native Botanist' exhibition- fabulous textile art at its best and most inventive.

There was an abundance of good food and we drank too much cheap wine - we were welcome by old and new friends who made our visit special - fresh Kalbarri CRAYFISH!!!!

 

- what more can I say - our time in Margaret River was really pleasant- its a lovely little town and lots to see and do around the area- I didn't care much for the high sand dune I had to climb in my most dignified manner - on all fours scrabbling for purchase but the walk along the coastal limestone pavement was fab- the shapes worn into the rock and the noise and spray from the sea breaking on the clints and grikes was completely different to experiencing a Yorkshire limestone pavement. 

Dr Fred climbing the big tree was probably scarier for me than him!!! 

The Eclipse was the icing on a multi layered cake - wonderful- peaceful - cosmic - beautiful located sand dune,  joyous turquoise sea with turtle... good company - clear skies, a lone heron - a truly celestial experience.

I was impressed with how Exmouth - a small place, 2800 residents -  dealt with the onslaught of 20,000 plus Eclipse chasers.  The free music festival was fun with something for every one and all well organised and delivered.  

Some of the walks we did were harder or maybe just hotter! than I would have liked and to be fair I only made it halfway up some of the mounds Dr Fred took in his stride but we did some great cliff top wanders and hot dusty bush forays, an early morning stroll around the Pinnacles along with the resident emus...  all good fun.  We only saw rain three times - once a dull day near Albany and the other two time were quite exciting almost tropical storms.  

I undertook to do one hundred days of drawing or painting- I started so the last 70 days would be while I was on the trip- I succeeded with this task and have a very full eclectic sketch book with all sorts from 10 minute line drawings in the airport to quite a bit cutting and sticking collage.  I only took a travel water colour pan set and an inktense paint pan set - a few fineliners (which I rang out of) and a small sketchbook- it was fun to document the trip with pictures and when I didn't want to draw the location I doodled and did Mandalas - mainly because I came across a set of compasses in a coffee shop!!!

Western Australia is an interestingly experience- one I'm unlikely to repeat - mainly because I don't feel I can face the 19 hours of fly time and that's excluding waiting in the airport time.... this time it was worth it - but I don't think it will happen again - too many other place to go and see and experience...

The next adventure is in the pipeline already - we have plans for something quite different for next year.  The rest of this year will see us tootling about in our campervan - grounding ourselves with some of the most beautiful bits of the UK.  watch this space.